This will hurt me...

Self-reflection. Hobart, February 2021. The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure   by William Goldman A rare case of the film doing justice to the book,  The Princess Bride  is a delightful romp through a strange and magical universe full of damsels in distress, evil princes, dimwitted giants, vicious pirates and a host of other colourful characters. Immensely funny, the i rreverent and lighthearted approach strikes just the right touch to keep moving things along at a breakneck pace towards a satisfying conclusion. Goldman has a great deal of fun breaking the fourth wall in subverting the genre to great effect. There's not much more to say than, "You should read this book. Now!" ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

  Not quite straight. Molle Street, Hobart. February 2021. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood Alias Grace  is an intriguing exploration of the life of one Grace Marks, a once-notorious Canadian murderess. Convicted at age 16 of the double murder of her employer and his mistress, a significant cause célèbre in 1843 Ontario. Given the ongoing discussion of literary appropriation and of who exactly can tell whose story, I declare that I am agnostic on the issue of an author taking a real-life event and exploring broader themes – as Atwood has done here – as long as it is done well and without sensationalism. Atwood does not fixate on the guilt or innocence of the protagonist, or at least no more than she explores the responsibility or integrity of the society that produced the events that drive the tale. It is a meandering novel, large parts epistolary, extensive parts interior monologue. It is a slow-moving piece with a hypnotic quality to it. This approach fits with our central ch...